Social Studies 11 Unit 2 Canada Emerges in the 20th Century The Causes of World War One

M.A.N.I.A.C. ... an acronym for the causes of the war

M - MILITARISM Massive build-up of armed forces to deter rivals(“Arm’s Race”) a nation’s armed forces come to dominate its national policy a glorification of the military and war itself.

A - ALLIANCES Signed treaties in which each nation involved pledges to defend one another if attacked by an aggressor... if two countries went to war, all of Europe would be at war

N - NATIONALISM Pride and patriotism in one’s nation or ethnic group within a country belief in national identity in terms of WWI, nationalism became aggressive and subsequently a major cause of international tension

I - IMPERIALISM Domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region due to earlier exploration & colonization and the economic model which went with the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, some European nations had a large portion of the world under their control

A - ASSASINATION Targeting/killing a key political figure

In particular: On June 28th, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand, shot and killed the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Francis Ferdinand, and his wife Sophia while they visited Sarajevo (Bosnia, claimed by neighbouring Serbia) this is the infamous “spark” that ignited WWI because it kicked the alliance system into effect.

C – CRISIS / CHAIN REACTION Break-down of diplomacy, outbreak of violence, nations commit to going to war July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia July 30: Russia mobilizes its army to defend Serbia August 1: Germany declares war on Russia; France mobilizes army August 3: Germany declares war on France (Schlieffen Plan – attack France, via Belgium, then focus on Russia) August 4: Germany invades Belgium on way to France; Britain declares war on Germany